Here's some interesting statistics gleaned from an article at Inman News...

In the latest National Association of Realtors Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, based on a survey of 7,500 home buyers and sellers, 80 percent of home buyers used the Internet in searching for a home, up from 77 percent in the 2005 survey and 74 percent in 2004.

Meanwhile, a 2006 survey by media research firm Borrell Associates Inc. found that 61 percent of real estate agents do not advertise on the Internet and 87 percent of agents do not buy keyword advertising from the Google or Yahoo search-engine companies.

One local agent I spoke with indicated the reason was that, "For many agents, real estate is a second career. They lack the understanding of how to use technology as a marketing tool. Not only that, the cost is often outside the boundary of what agents can afford."

Online marketing can be a complicated affair, considering all the options available. It runs the gamut from lead-generation websites to pay-per-click ads to blogs to search engine optimization to banner ads. No wonder most agents don't advertise online. How would they even know where to begin?

The scenario is changing, if not at the agent level, then certainly among franchises and brokerages. Online spending in the real estate industry is picking up and is expected to reach 32.1 percent by 2010 says the Inman piece.

Speaking of brokers, Joe Ballarino, president and founder of Amerivest Realty, a real estate company based in Naples, Fla., said, "Brokers should play a role in 'moving the Web marketing strategy continually forward' while freeing up agents to work with clients. A good, clear written plan of how the company's Web marketing hands off clients to (its) agents is a must."

Truer words were never spoken, but I wonder how widespread that strategy is. The aforementioned agent I spoke with indicated that, "If the agent is relying on the broker to do all the marketing for them, they're not doing their job. The top 10% of agents in the industry maintain a strong Internet presence themselves."

It appears to me there is a balancing act between what the agent can expect of the broker to do on their behalf and what they should expect of themselves. One tactic that might work is that brokers take some time to educate agents as to the available options, including blogs.

You know what I'm about to ask, right? I'll ask anyway: "What's wrong with this picture?"